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New airline passenger protections take effect

Travelers walk down a concourse at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois on May 25, 2010.

Travelers walk down a concourse at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois on May 25, 2010.

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

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Airliners line up for take off at Los Angeles International Airport June 20, 2001.

Airliners line up for take off at Los Angeles International Airport June 20, 2001.

Photo: Getty Images

New airline passenger protections take effect

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New protections for airline passengers took effect Tuesday.

Here’s a quick list of the changes now in effect.

Lost bags: airlines must refund the bag fee, in addition to previous requirements to compensate passengers for reasonable expenses for loss, damage or delay.

Fees: Airlines must prominently disclose all optional fees on their websites, including those for baggage, meals, canceling or changing reservations, or advanced or upgraded seating.

Bumped passengers: Airlines previously had to pay involuntarily bumped passengers the value of the one-way ticket, up to $400, if the airline gets bumped passengers to their destination within two hours of their originally scheduled arrival time for domestic flights and four hours for international flights, and double the value, up to $800 for longer delays. Now, it’s double the value, up to $650, for shorter delays and four times the value, up to $1,300, for longer ones, with inflation adjustments to the caps every two years.

Tarmac delays: Last year’s ban on lengthy tarmac delays now applies to foreign airline operations at U.S. airports, delays for international flights capped at four hours, the three-hour delay limit for domestic flights expanded from large- and medium-hub airports to small- and non-hub ones; airlines must give passengers adequate food and water after two hours, along with working lavatories and any necessary medical treatment.

Rules set to take effect on Jan. 24, 2012 would:

Make airlines include all taxes and fees in advertised fares;

Ban post-purchase price increases;

Let passengers hold a reservation without payment or cancel it without penalty for 24 hours, if it’s reservation is made at least one week before the departure date;

Require airlines to disclose baggage fees when passengers book a flight and on e-ticket confirmations, and keep the same baggage allowances and fees apply throughout a trip;

Make airlines promptly notify passengers about delays of over 30 minutes, cancellations and diversions.

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.